


A Tale of Two Masters

by TheMastersDaughter666



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:21:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28973499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMastersDaughter666/pseuds/TheMastersDaughter666
Summary: Missy is bored in the vault, waiting for the Doctor to come to see her unaware of his plight with the Monks so she decides to take a short jaunt to her favorite restaurant where she ends up meeting someone very familiar. Herself.This takes place during the six months the Doctor was held captive by the monks and features Missy and the Delgado Master in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Master!Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of its characters they are the property of the BBC
Kudos: 6





	A Tale of Two Masters

Missy sighed as she played the piano. She had been in the Vault for nearly eighty years now. To say a lot had happened in that time would be an understatement. She had spent years now reflecting on her centuries of evil. There was a time when she would have looked at her actions and laughed but remembering the horrors that she had inflicted on other's now filled her with regret.  
Changing was difficult but she knew now that if she were ever to get her friend back it was time she tried seeing things the Doctor's way. She couldn't say what it was exactly that made her want to rekindle the friendship so badly. All she knew was that she needed her friend back and if truly trying to change her ways was the only way to do that then so be it.  
The odd thing was that it had five months since she last saw the Doctor. Last saw anyone, in fact, even the egg, Nardole, or whatever his name was hadn't stopped by. She didn't believe that the Doctor had broken his vow and left her here to rot. But it was getting increasingly boring not having anyone to interact with. She was starting to go a wee bit stir crazy.  
Finishing the piece, she went to her closet and picked out her favourite violet jacket which matched her skirt. She then walked over to her bed and crouching down pulled out the makeshift vortex manipulator she had created out of various innocuous items. Not too difficult for her considering she once made a gun out of leaves.  
She needed to get out of here just for a short time. Just to get some sort of contact with someone else. She was willing to admit to being banana's as she'd told Osgood. She felt a small pang of regret as she remembered the woman she had so easily disintegrated. But she had a feeling if she didn't get some sort of interaction, she might go over the edge. She wasn't running away just taking a much-needed break.  
Typing in some coordinates she pressed a button and with a flash found herself outside a rather classy restaurant on Delta Seven. She had often frequented this spot in her various regenerations. It was sophisticated, discrete, and it made excellent seafood fettuccine.  
Stepping inside she looked around the familiar space. It was just as she remembered. There was a section cordoned off that held the bar while the rest of the area was meant for dining. The furniture was mostly ornately carved mahogany with elegant red and gold upholstery. Chandelier's hung from the ceiling giving the place a soft glow. From the kitchen, she could already smell the delicious seafood.  
She was about to ask for a table when she saw a very familiar figure sitting at a table in the corner. It was her. In one of her earliest incarnations. He had dark hair and a goatee both streaked with grey lending him a rather distinguished look that was further enhanced by his impeccable charcoal suit, gold tie with matching pocket square, and dark brown eyes. He was sipping a cognac.  
Missy brushed past the hostess who was helping another customer and made her way over to her former self settling herself gracefully in the chair opposite him. Could this cause a tear in the fabric of time itself? Yes. Did Missy particularly care? No. Her former self raised a dark eyebrow at the sudden intrusion.  
"Can I help you, Madame?" Missy felt his mind brush against her's and a look of recognition came across his face. "Or should I say, Master?"  
"It's Missy short for Mistress now," replied Missy with a grin, before glancing down at the menu.  
"Missy then. I must say it's nice to know I have a certain future. How far along are you?" asked the Master.  
"Oh, quite a way's down the line. Where are you? Plastic flowers and Satanic rituals?" Missy asked playfully. Some of her most outlandish plans had occurred in that regeneration.  
"I just attempted to help the Sea Devils conquer Earth." Missy smiled slightly fondly at the memory of sparring with the Doctor's third self. Both figuratively and literally in this case.  
"I can see why you came here. That prison we were stuck in might have worked well as a base of operations but its food quality was certainly limited. Have you ordered?" she asked.  
"I was about to. May I treat you to dinner?" her younger self offered. Oh, what a suave gentleman she had been back then. Missy nodded.  
"Why thank you, Master."  
"Not at all, my dear Mistress," Missy smirked at his usage of her name. The two of them ordered before resuming their conversation.  
"So, tell me, is the Doctor still the figurative thorn in our side?" inquired her past incarnation. Missy laughed at this.  
"Oh, yes. Can't get rid of him. He's like us, practically allergic to death, except with less of a personal survival instinct. He's gone back to velvet again too."  
The Doctor's third incarnation was one of Missy's favourites. Back when it was both still a game for them. Before things escalated to the point that their camaraderie was all but gone. She liked to think they were starting to get some of that back with their current incarnations.  
"Well, it's certainly better than that cosmic hobo look he was going for previously," chuckled the Master.  
"Oh, please! That was subtle compared to some of his later choices. Not only does he choose a technicoloured eyesore of an outfit at one point but he also goes through a phase where he thinks CELERY is an acceptable accessory!" Both of them were laughing now.  
"That certainly sounds like something only the Doctor would do. I see we at least have maintained some sense of class," said the Master once the two of them had regained their composure.  
"Well, we do have a rough patch with our own velvet monstrosity in the future as well as an unfortunate hoodie situation at one point but otherwise we are better off in the outfit department," replied Missy brushing off her perfectly tailored skirt.  
"At least we got it right again eventually," the Master said approvingly. Their conversation was interrupted by the delivery of their meals "So what have we been doing lately? Conquering civilizations? Decimating planets?" Missy's stomach twisted guiltily at the reminder of her many crimes. Crimes that no longer filled her with the same glee as currently being expressed by her other-self.  
"Actually I've been taking some time off our normal schedule of destruction," Missy replied vaguely.  
"Is that so?" said the Master sipping his cognac. Missy swallowed her bite of fettuccine.  
"Yes, when you get as old as I am sometimes a little reflection is a good thing."  
"I see," replied her younger self thoughtfully. Missy observed him for a moment.  
To be frank this was probably the incarnation she shared the most personality traits with. She didn't deny that at some of the incarnations that followed this lacked the same level of charisma and patience that she and this incarnation had. The two of them were both more interested in the long game rather than short term victories. Winning wasn't the only object for them.  
Perhaps it was fitting that now she was attempting to regain the Doctor's friendship she should circle back to being similar to the incarnation that started their journey as "the Master". The last incarnation to acknowledge and even to a small degree occasionally act on that friendship.  
"Yes, well you have plenty of time before you get to that. There's lots of exciting things that happen in between," she said to lighten the mood.  
"I'm glad to hear it. Of course, I hardly expected my future to be dull," her younger self said with a sly smile.  
"Certainly not! Where's the fun in life without a wee bit of mayhem?" exclaimed Missy with a slight smirk. Reformed or not trouble really was her middle name. Granted part of that trouble MAY have come from her reputation as a notorious criminal. But even without that, she would have undoubtedly gotten into some kind of mischief. The Doctor was proof that you didn't HAVE to be an evil genius to be a trouble magnet.  
"My thoughts precisely," the Master returned, wearing an identical expression.  
"So which of his pets is he on right now? He ran through so many of them I sometimes lose track," asked Missy.  
"Miss Josephine Grant," replied her counterpart.  
"Ah yes! Jo Grant. Well, she's certainly one of the Doctor's less annoying companions." Missy had to admit that Jo Grant had grown on her. Fondness wasn't the right word though. It was more of an "I've-kidnapped-you-so-many-times-you-actually-seem-tolerable" situation.  
"His obsession with those primitives continues to baffle me. Particularly when we've offered him the chance to travel and rule the universe with us. We are equals after all. " Her younger self said looking slightly annoyed. Missy took a sip of her wine.  
"I don't think he would ever choose to rule with us. It's just not in his nature. I gave him a whole Cyberman army for his birthday and instead of a thank you, he goes and lets the Cybermen blow themselves up!"  
"How rude of him," said her younger counterpart dryly. Missy nodded although her tone was softer and more serious when she spoke again.  
"We are incredibly similar in so many ways but our core differences will always be the defining factor in his choices regarding us."  
"Our relationship is certainly a complicated one," admitted the Master. Missy was reminded of what she had once told Clara. "A friendship older than your civilization and infinitely more complex". If her younger self thought things were complicated now it was nothing to how complex things would become.  
"Perhaps that's why he prefers the nano-brains. Spending time with them means he doesn't need to face the same challenges he does with us," said Missy thoughtfully. One good thing she could say about the Vault was that it had forced the Doctor to stay and confront some of the issues regarding their friendship just as she had been made to confront her past actions.  
"That would make sense. Emotional conflict was never his area of expertise," her younger self said thoughtfully.  
"That's certainly true," agreed Missy. Although to be fair she hadn't always been great in that area either.  
"Regardless we'll always be around to remind him who's cleverest," the Master said with a smirk. Missy grinned and raised her glass.  
"I'll drink to that. Someone has to keep him on his toes." The Master smiled and raised his own glass with a nod of acknowledgement.  
They passed the rest of the meal pleasantly whoever said: "you're your own best company" was right. Once the meal was finished, they both stood and headed for the door. Outside the Master turned to her.  
"Can I drop you off somewhere?" he offered. "I see you're travelling by vortex manipulator."  
"Cheap and nasty time travel," said Missy with a smile. "Thank you for the offer but I need to be getting back and it would probably be best if you didn't see anything about our future."  
"It's a shame the paradox won't allow me to maintain these memories. I quite enjoyed tonight," her younger self said with his hands clasped behind his back.  
"So did I. Its nice to find some stimulating conversation," agreed Missy.  
"Well, then I'll take my leave," the Master said taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "Goodnight Mistress." Missy smiled as she watched him walk away. Probably off to go cause trouble. She really had been charming back then. Not that she wasn't now.  
Setting the coordinates into the dial on her wrist Missy pressed a button on the side of the manipulator and with a flash, she found herself back in the Vault. Home sweet home.  
The End  
Author's Note: I'm publishing this on 1/24/21 so happy 50th Anniversary of the Master to you all! Please like and comment! I hope you all enjoyed this tribute to our marvellous Master!


End file.
